Instagram has worked hard to draw more users to its social media platform, especially since the Facebook takeover in 2012. Part of this process has involved allowing people to sync their contacts to the app and search for connections via the phone numbers. After all, it’s much easier to find friends without having to ask for their handles.
You can sync your contacts to Instagram and find their handles automatically by opening your Settings, turning Contact Syncing on, and granting Instagram permission to access your contacts when requested. You can also search for a specific phone number and find your friends.
Let’s take a closer look at how to find your contacts on Instagram. We’ll go through how to search for someone using a phone number as well as possible problems you may encounter.
Can You Sync Your Contacts List to Instagram?
Yes, you can sync your contacts list to your Instagram account, and the app makes the process fairly easy.
How to Sync Contacts Using an iPhone
To sync your contacts to your Instagram on iPhone, you can use the following steps:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Head to your profile by hitting your picture in the bottom right corner.
- Tap the three lines in the top right corner and hit ‘Settings.’
- Tap ‘Account.’
- Tap ‘Contacts Syncing.’
- Toggle it on.
You’ll then get a pop up from the phone asking you to grant Instagram permission to access your contacts. You’ll have to grant the permission to turn contact syncing on.
How to Sync Contacts Using an Android
On Android, you’ll start the same way by opening Instagram and accessing your profile. From there, things are slightly different:
- Navigate to ‘Discover People.’
- Tap ‘See All.’
- Tap ‘Connect Contacts.’
- Tap ‘Allow Access’ when your phone asks if you’d like to let Instagram access your contacts.
Can You Sync Contacts on a Computer?
While Instagram has made a concerted effort to be more desktop-friendly in recent times — such as by allowing you to view posts, stories, and message people from your computer — the features on desktop are still relatively limited.
One of the features that isn’t yet available is syncing contacts. For now, if you want to sync contacts or Facebook friends, you will have to access Instagram on a phone.
What if My Contacts Aren’t Showing Up?
If your contacts aren’t showing up, there are a few different reasons this might be happening:
You Failed to Grant Instagram Access
Whether on iPhone or Android, you have to explicitly allow Instagram permission to access your contacts or it won’t be able to display them and connect you. If you didn’t do this when you got the popup, you’ll have to head to your phone’s Settings, look for Instagram, and toggle contacts access on.
After doing that, you might need to restart the Instagram app and go through the process again for them to show up.
You’re on the Wrong Account
Android works based off of a Google account, while iPhones work based off of an iCloud account. Although you can store contacts directly in the phone, most people choose to store them virtually so they move between accounts. That makes it easier if you change phone.
If you’re logged into the wrong account, however, Instagram won’t be able to retrieve all of the contacts you’re aiming for. You can check in your settings which account you’re logged into, and change it if need be.
Software Glitch
There’s always a chance there’s a software glitch, either with the Instagram app or the phone itself. You can try restarting the Instagram app, logging out and back in to the account, and doing a hard restart of the phone if need be.
If that doesn’t work, you can also uninstall and reinstall the app, which should do the trick and get everything working again.
Can You Search Your Contacts by Phone Number on Instagram?
You can search contacts by phone number as long as their phone number is actually connected to the account.
A lot of people choose to have their account on private or don’t connect their phone number, meaning you won’t be able to search for them using this method.
Is My Phone Number Viewable on the Account?
If you have your number attached to your account, your account is public, and you allow your contacts to be synced, then anyone who searches for your phone number will see your account pop up.
However, this number will not be publicly displayed on your profile for anyone who doesn’t already have it.
Is There Another Way to Find Friends on Instagram?
Another primary way to find existing contacts on Instagram without having to search for each one is by syncing your Facebook friends. Since Facebook took over Instagram, it makes sense that Facebook is working hard to connect the two.
- Open up Instagram.
- Tap your profile picture on the bottom right of the menu.
- Tap the person on the top left of the screen.
- Tap the Facebook link.
- Login to your Facebook if you haven’t already connected the two.
Your friends list will now be displayed. You can tap the ‘Follow All’ button to automatically follow all of your Facebook friends or, if you’d like to be more selective, you can scroll through and choose the friends you’d like to follow.
The Classic Method
If you’d prefer not to sync your contacts for any reason, you can always locate your friends by good old-fashioned methods. You can simply ask for their handle and search for it, or search for their full name and see if you can locate them that way.
At the end of the day, there are multiple ways to sync different contacts and connect with your friends on Instagram.
You can connect to your phone contacts or your Facebook friends, and you can even search people by phone number if you’d like to look for someone specifically. If your phone number is connected to your account, people will also be able to search for you in the same way.